A better way to pay for journalism

 I really don't know why I share my thoughts, but here's another one.

I hate macro data collection. I think it's a gross invasion of privacy and completely goes against the 4th Amendment (The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.) 

The fact that said data collection by big tech is not technically done by the government but by said industry with the blessing of our government is tantamount to the same. That's my opinion, anyway.

Btiching without suggestion is not my style.

Here's my latest big idea that I'll never fulfill. 

If I were a web developer, I would create a news and non-fiction content search that facilitated easy transactions for reading content. Let me explain.

Let's say that I want to read the Wall Street Journal article about the gigantic profits of the world's premier widget manufacturer. The Wall Street Journal wants me to be a subscriber, however. They need to pay their staff and all of the overhead that is required to run a company, of course. 

In the olden days, the drivers of revenue were ads in the paper and classifieds in that dedicated section. 

Craig's List, job listing sites like Monster, and Facebook marketplace have destroyed the classifieds stream. (These assertions have been widely reported.)

That "nobody" reads the print versions of these means that the ads that one would find in the printed pages are no longer as valuable. (This assertion is a logical assumption of mine.)

Instead, like the rest of the internets, data is collected as we go through sites so that companies can figure out what to market to us (not necessarily a bad thing - I've dealt successfully with targeted marketing) but also how to keep us engaged for longer. 

Can we agree that data collection is a bad thing?

And, what if there was a better way for the written word to be more valuable to produce?

What I propose is this: an account that pays for articles that we read. Let's say, for example, that we want to read the reporting on the Pandora Papers . The ICIJ does have a donate button, but what if there was an easier process? What if I had a small, dedicated amount of money, in a digital wallet that was for the sole purpose of paying for these articles. Furthermore, if we are "all" paying, then we actually wouldn't have to pay very much per person to make a huge impact. 

How would it work? I have an I-pass. When I drive on the tollway, I can roll right through the tolls because I have an RF transmitter that pulls a fee from an account for which I have pre-loaded money. Why not with articles?

But I don't want to pay $1.00 per article!?! My response: we shouldn't need to! I think the average price per article would be in the $0.01 to $0.05 per article. Let's say 1,000,000 people read an article: that's $10,000 if it's the penny price and $50k for the nickel. And, if it's a debit transaction as opposed to a credit transaction, then it's a cheaper transaction price. 

I'm sure there is a lot that I don't know about e-commerce that would make this complicated, but I do think it could work.

That's my idea. If you like it, take it and make it happen!

Physiology and psychology of Mobility dysfunction

 That's a fancy way of saying that, when it's hard to move, problems of the body and of the mind can result. 

Here's the thing that my book pointed out that I'd never considered. Are you ready?

A dysfunction in mobility can make is difficult or impossible to leave an uncomfortable or undesirable situation.

Can't get up and go? Then you can't get away. You're stuck being in and around environments. 

People who you don't like? You're stuck. 

In a conversation that you don't like? you're stuck.

Want to go to your happy place? You're stuck. 

Want to go to the place you go when you're sad? Depressed? Angry? Horny? Dreamy? Feeling creative? You're stuck.

The main factors that contribute to mobility include strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. You can immediately imagine what a reduction in function in any of those can have on the ability to get from one place to another - even something as simple as getting out of bed and sitting in a chair that's right next to the bed.

Or go to the bathroom. 

Or go for a walk.

Or get something to eat or drink.

Or get dressed.

Or go to bed.

And so on.

To go back to the original thing that blew my mind - the ability (or inability) to get out of a situation that I don't want to be in... What a fundamental function that we take for granted. 

Even if it's just being done being at a place. Let's say, a friend's house. You've been there for a couple of hours. It's been great, but you're ready to go. Nope. Gotta wait till the method of transportation is ready to take you. Done with your meal? Gotta wait. Done with your TV show? Gotta wait. Done with your game of cards? Gotta wait. Done taking a piss or taking a dump? Gotta wait. 

Oh - and lest we forget that being immobile is NOT just for the elderly. Want to masturbate? Ha! Menstruating and need to change your pad or tampon? Ha! 

You want to get out of a situation and you're stuck.

Take care of your body, people.

The Work Cascade

 Maybe it has to be meaningful work? 

I have found that, even when the work is daunting, once I get going, I get into it. Today, for instance, I had been putting off a couple of assignments for my Clinical section of Nursing 101. 

We had a break from clinical rotation. Our professor used it for two things. First, we were able to have a conversation about our experiences, which lasted about an hour. It was a really good exchange about our experiences and any questions or comments. 

For those who know me, I am not afraid to speak aloud about my impressions. The major thing that I mentioned was how nursing in practice is different from how I was observing it over our two clinical sessions. 

One instance was about documentation. According to the book, it is supposed to be done after seeing every patient. This is to ensure the least amount of information loss. In practice, the nurses would do their rounds, then go to the computer and document. 

The second instance happened on our first day. The nurse needed to get a blood glucose measurement using a tool called Accucheck. First, you use a tool to make a small prick in the patient's finger. Then, you use a special strip that's attached to a small handheld gadget to gather a drop of blood which is analyzed in just a few seconds. The patient did not want to have it done to them, so the nurse had one of my classmates hold her so that the nurse could do the procedure. According to our book, there were several problems with that, both moral and legal.

Part of our discussion dealt with the idea that we sometimes have to do things to ensure the patient's health. In this case, it could possibly have been rationalized that, without the measurement, proper medication and nutrition could not be provided. My main issue, though, was that the nurse didn't use any communication skills with the patient. She didn't ask the patient why she was so opposed to the procedure. Did the patient understand the importance of the procedure? Could we have come back a little later?

Sorry - waaay off track on what I first brought up! 

After we all talked about our experiences and had our discussion, the professor was going to give us time to work on some projects independently. First, though, he went through the projects and we were able to talk about them one at a time to understand what was needed to complete them.

Once I got going, I was hooked. I took a couple of short breaks to walk the dog and have lunch, but I kept thinking about my assignments and wanted to get back to it.

It's like that, too, when I start organizing a room or painting a fence. I'll find any excuse to avoid those things. But, once I get started, I get focused and want to do a really good job. 

That's why I called it a cascade - once I start, I don't want to stop because of the momentum that I've built.

Do you ever have that experience?